German champions VfL Wolfsburg have released coach Armin Veh after failing to win a league match since November, the club said on Monday.

"This was not an easy decision for the board," Wolfsburg's board chairman Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz said in a statement. "But it was clear that after the negative results of the past weeks we had to act."

Former Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster tops the list of potential successors, according to reports in the German media, though a club spokeswoman would not comment on the likely replacements.

Lorenz-Guenther Koestner, who coaches the Wolfsburg reserves will take over as caretaker boss as the search for a new coach begins.

Veh, steered VfB Stuttgart to the Bundesliga title in 2007, replaced Felix Magath at Wolfsburg at the start of the season. However, the reigning German champions have been a shadow of the team that romped to a maiden title last year, losing their last three league matches and failing to win since early November.

The Wolves have dropped to 10th place in the Bundesliga, 17 points behind top-of-the-table Bayer Leverkusen after 19 games, following their 3-2 defeat against visitors Cologne.

"The cooperation with Armin Veh was good and his ties to the team were good," sporting director Dieter Hoeness said. "Unfortunately the results did not come. This was a source for much insecurity within the team.

"We were not convinced any more that the situation could change in the near future with Veh. The last nine matches without a win and the high number of goals, with 38 goals against us, are clear signs."

Wolfsburg's once rock-solid defence is now the second worse in the league, with their tally of 38 conceded only one better than bottom-placed Hertha Berlin, while last season's top scorer Grafite has netted only five goals.